APRIL

23/04

Another wonderful day with great results to share for Fenrirkin dogs up and down the country.

I headed North to attend Sunderland & DCS Premier Open Show which was a lovely, sunny day despite a previously quite ominous weather forecast.
Under judge Bridgette Bodle, Noah came 1st in Open - going on to take Best of Breed – with Alice placing 2nd (with a technical RBOB).
Not done there though, in a good size Working Group he managed not only a shortlist to the final six but gained a fabulous WG3  - very pleased!

Normally a rare breed group placing would be enough for me to beam about but the celebrations don’t stop there as Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black owned by Kurts & Charlotte) was in Lincolnshire for Day 2 of the weightpull, out of novice class and into competition – and she did not let the side down! 
She not only came 2nd in the 41-60lb class with a pull of 1200lb (equal to 1st place in weight but pulled 2.5 seconds slower) but weighing in at 58lb this gave her a pull of 20.69x her bodyweight - the highest percentage pulled by a bitch on the day!
Not only this, but this gives her two new UK breed records, the first being for the highest weight pulled by a bitch (this previously being held by her grandmother Java with a pull of 1000lb) and also the highest percentage of bodyweight pulled by a UK Greenland Dog (this previously being held by her Dad Dylan with a pull of 20.25x his bodyweight). Could not be more proud of her and her owners, especially with this being only her second competitive pull!!

22/04

A fabulous day at the CEDCGB run Lincolnshire weightpull, with just the boys to give them a break from season fun at home.

Dylan came 6th of 10 competing dogs in the 81-100lb class with a pull of 15.29x his bodyweight (1300lb).

Harry was also in the 61-80lb class and once again made me very proud, coming 2nd in the with a pull of 1500lb (18.52x his bodyweight).
 

Noah also didn't disappoint, coming 3rd in the 101lb-120lb class with a pull of 1800lb (16.82x his bodyweight) - equal on weight to second place but 3 seconds slower.
This is not only a new Personal Best for him but also a new UK Breed record for highest weight pulled (this previously being held by his kennelmate Dylan with a pull of 1700lb) - very very proud to say the least!!

20/04

Today we get to say a massive happy birthday to our wonderful Malamute Lucie who has reached 13 years of age. As her enthusiasm in the top centre photo (taken today) probably helps demonstrate she is still just as sassy, loud and demanding a woo as she has always been and remains the dog that never fails to put a smile on my face every single day and am forever grateful to have in my life.

16/04

Another Open Show for us today at Hitchin & DCS.
Under judge Sam Goodwin (Mintisha), Noah wins 1st Open & Best of Breed, with Alice - kindly handled by friend Lorna - placing 2nd in the same class and Reserve Best of Breed. Noah then goes into the Working Group under judge  Laura Clark (Clarkenwells) and to my delight takes WG3 from 10 breeds present - good lad!

15/04

Today we head to North Wales to support our breed classes at Wrexham KA Open Show.

It is just Jess representing our kennel but she doesn't let the side down, winning 1st Open & Best of Breed and going on to take Working Group 2 under judge Josh Henderson (Olijah), beaten only by the Newfoundland that went on to win Best In Show, nonetheless. Very proud!

11/04

A pleasing day out at Norfolk & Norwich CS Open Show to support our breed classes. 
Penny Roberts (Archaeus) officiates and finds her 1st Open & Best of Breed in Noah (handled for the first time by the talented Edward Eddery), 2nd Open & Reserve Best of Breed in Jess and 3rd Open in Alice (handled fantastically by our friend Racheal, as always). 

07/04

Due to unforseen circumstance I was sadly unable to attend Edwinstowe & DCS Open Show - who scheduled Greenland breed classes for the first time - as planned but I was delighted to receive news that the Fenrirkin Kennel was still well represented!

Judge Carol Cavanagh found her Best of Breed in Zippy (Fenrirkin Gives You Wings At Austmans) and Reserve Best of Breed in Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black) - well done ladies, a proud breeder as always!

02/04

We start the month with a full weekend of weightpulling at the CEDCGB-AMCUK ran events in Lincolnshire. 

Day 1 saw a decent turn out with 26 dogs entered including those in novice (13 Malamutes, 8 CEDs, 5 Greenlands) and it was fair to say even with a bit of drizzle at the start of the day everybody was in good spirits.

First up in the novice class was Jess. Her first try at weightpull was back in November and she had been a bit uncertain about the whole thing but this time round, even though just her second attempt, she seemed much more confident, ultimately pulling up to the maximum 1000lb (13.69x bodyweight) unassisted.

Her sister, Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black) was also back in the novice class (the decision made by her owners to take the opportunity to build her focus a little bit more before trying competition again) and she continues to show such good promise, also pulling the maximum 1000lb unassisted which being a fair bit lighter than her tomboy of a sister is an impressive 18.18x her bodyweight.

Next up was their mother Alice who was being given another chance in competition to see if we could break her habit of flipping out her harness when she got bored. While we seemed to have solved that issue she has a new party trick - refusing to pull until she has harassed the chute handler(s) for cuddles – but her performance was definitely improved versus her November attempt, coming away with 2nd in the 41-60lb class with an equal PB of 900lb (16.98x her bodyweight).

Moving onto the 81-100lb class, Dylan ended up placing 4th of 9 competing dogs with a pull of 1300lb (15.66x his bodyweight) – I made the classic error of skipping the 1400lb thinking he was showing good focus and of course he decided to prove me wrong in typical Greenland style by doing his classic staring through me technique without even really attempting to move the 1500lb. But at least he had fun!

Harry - my only competing Malamute - on the other hand showed much better focus (albeit still entirely too much bouncing but at 10 years old I don’t think we’ll be breaking that habit now) and came 2nd in the 81-100lb class with a pull of 1500lb (18.29x his bodyweight), equal to the class winner on weight pulled (but slower on time) – what a good boy!

Finally was Noah who I was absolutely thrilled to see come 2nd in the 101lb+ class with a new Personal Best of 1500lb (13.89x his bodyweight) – only his third time competition and although still too much time shouting and procrastinating a big improvement in his focus!
 

Day 2 was a much sunnier day all round, drawing a slightly smaller entry of 18 dogs (8 CEDs, 6 Malamutes & 4 Greenlands).

Alice still didn’t try to escape her harness (a definite bonus) but it is clear has convinced herself that weightpull is more about socialising than actually pulling, even trying to climb the barrier to say hi to the timekeeper at one point. Not surprisingly, she ended up 5th of 5 in the 41-60lb class with a pull of 800lb (although still 15.69x her bodyweight).

Next up was Jess who I decided to give a go in competition as she had shown so much more confidence on Saturday (also helped knowing that if she failed the first qualifying pull we could move her back down to novice). She actually really surprised me and did much better than I initially expected, placing 2nd in the 61-80lb class with a pull of 900lb (12.68x her bodyweight) – in fact, she did actually pull the 1000lb unaided but unfortunately ran out of time after getting completely distracted by the chute handler, something we obviously need to work on but all in all a really promising first competitive effort.

Dylan was once again 4th in the 81-100lb class and although his final pull of 1200lb (14.12x bodyweight) was less than Saturday I actually felt he put in more effort and so strangely felt happier all in all – and he was once again a happy, smiley boy.

Harry was my wonderful surprise for the day and came away with another 2nd in the 81-100lb class with a pull of 1600lb (18.6x his bodyweight) – and he actually gave the 1700lb a really good try, so when I could see he was getting tired we had the trolley pushed through to end on a good note but so over the moon with his efforts over the weekend and certainly shows the longevity of these dogs (in fact I think many of the top honours went to Veterans)!

And last but by no means least, Noah was also my star of the day as he continued to improve his focus and once again pulled a new PB of 1600lb (14.68x his bodyweight) – still plenty of room for improvement but am excited to see how he progresses!

MARCH

19/03

A super busy weekend for the Fenrirkin Greenland Team, with 5 dogs of our ownership or breeding representing the breed at two open shows, two days of weightpull and a full weekend rally.

Starting with Alice who headed off on Friday evening for a weekend away, once again teaming up with Kim and her Greenland male Wolvey to support the DRF (freight) class at NATB Charlton Park rally.
Although fairly humid and requiring a shortened trail on day one – and the pair losing some time from a a tangle on day two – the duo still had a fantastic time and strong runs, coming away with 1st place on both days. Good pupsters (and of course well done Kim)!!

Meanwhile the CEDCGB-AMCUK run weightpull in Lincolnshire had its first full weekend competition after it's first 1 day event back in November.
Unfortunately we couldn’t attend on Saturday as planned but Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black, owned by Charlotte & Kurts) was able to attend as our breed representative on on the day where she had her first time in competition, placing 3rd in the 41-60b class.

She then was back on the road on Sunday morning to support our breed classes at Retford CS Open Show, where she won 1st Post Graduate & ultimately Best of Breed under judge Tara Fisher (Sannah) – a very proud breeder as always!

On Sunday I was needed elsehwere but thanks to a bit of teamwork with friends I was able to drop off Noah & Dylan to represent the breed. With both boys normally pulled by myself (and of course this only being Noah's second time in competition) it was a bit of a gamble on whether they would work for anybody else so our aim was just for them to have a nice day out. We certainly achieved this, with both boys having fun and cherry on the cake was seeing Dylan placing 3rd in the 81-100lb class (equal weight to 2nd place but beaten on time) and Noah pulling an equal PB to come 2nd in the 101lb+ class - good lads!

And finally Jess accompanied me to Herts & Essex CS Premier Open Show which was also scheduling breed classes and saw her place 1st Open & Best of Breed under our judge Gary Gray - not a bad weekend's work!

12/03

Our final day at Crufts 2023 and we are back on the Discover Dogs stand with Noah & Jess (plus human help from our friend and fellow GDCGB Committee member, Nicola).
​This is the first time Jess has covered Discover Dogs (and Noah's first time back since he was a puppy) so with Sunday being the busiest day we were a little apprehensive but needn't have worried - both dogs were superstars throughout the day, making me a very proud owner / breeder!

11/03

Back to the NEC, this time representing the Greenland Dog at Discover Dogs with Mother & Daughter duo Alice & Elska (the latter owned by Charlotte & Kurts). Having successfully covered the stand together last year, the pair once again made me very proud (especially as they don't live together) meeting humans of all ages and bringing smiles to many faces throughout.

10/03

Today is show day for us at Crufts and with my having no Malamutes entered for the first time in a decade it was all about the Greenlands - and what a fabulous day it was for our kennel uner our sled dog specialist judge Kath Howarth (Hawkam). The results for the three dogs we had entered as follows:

* Jess - 1st Open Bitch, Best Bitch & Best of Breed!!
* Noah – 1st Open Dog, Best Dog & Best Opposite Sex!
* Alice – 3rd Open Bitch

Also competing were two of Jess's sisters, and they certainly didn't let the side down!

* Zippy (Fenrirkin Gives You Wings With Austmans, owned by Kimberly & Mark) - 2nd Open Bitch & Reserve Best Bitch!
* Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black, owned by Charlotte & Kurts) - Reserve Open Bitch

These wins were so special to me, making it the third year we have done the double at Crufts (Noah & Alice in 2020, Noah & Jess in 2022) and with Jess's wins not only giving our kennel it's first homebred Crufts Best of Breed winner (at a mere two years old, and just starting to come back into coat, too) but also making her only the second Greenland female to claim this award at Crufts, the first being her awesome paternal grandmother, Nicola & Stuart’s Java (Arabica Av Tasermiut at Sledog ShCM).
Her group performance may have been a bit more on the wriggly / bouncy side than I would have liked (a bored Greenland is not an easy one)!! but ultimately she was a happy girl, unstressed by the environment and still so enthusiastic after a very long day and that is more important to me than anything else!

We may be one of the smaller breeds numerically at this event but this doesn’t detract from what these awards mean and I really am honestly so proud of all the Greenlands competing on the day – whether from my kennel or not - with every dog present was happy to be there, in sound condition and showed typical breed enthusiasm for our judge to whom I am so grateful, along with friends Mark & Racheal for their fantastic handling of Noah & Alice.

09/03

It wouldn't be March without Crufts, and this year, while we were busy grooming (in the snow no less!) our kennel was still being represented with Nuuka (Fenrirkin Catch Me If You Can) having her first time on the Discover Dogs stand alongsider her owners Jo & Carl.

Needless to say, I am very proud of them all (especially covering the stand solo) and was delighted to hear she enjoyed all the attention from the general public - a very proud breeder!

04/03

A fab start to an always busy month, having the pleasure of supporting our Greenland Dog breed classes at Ashton In Makerfield CS Premier Open Show.

Jess was representing our kennel and didn’t let the side down, winning not only 1st Open & Best of Breed under sled dog specialist Elizabeth Ashcroft but going on to be shortlisted in a good sized group (17 breeds scheduled) and then taking a fantastic Working Group 3 in good company under judge Cath Moffat - a wonderful day.

Today also marks the 10th birthday of our handsome Harry who despite reaching double figures remains as bouncy and happy a boy as always - and long may it continue!!

FEBRUARY
 

26/02

This weekend was AMWA’s Haughley Park / WSA associated two day race and was a bit of a special one, teaming up with friend Kim to run her Greenland boy Wolvey not only with Alice again, but also increasing the team to include her daughter Jess, too.

This made it a real weekend of firsts, with this not only being Jess’s first ever competitive rally but also her & Wolvey’s first time in a team together plus his first time running with a wheel dog behind him. Everything looked good in theory but geography & other commitments as the weekend approached meant there was no time to trial the formation in training first, so of course there is always a nervousness trying something new in competitive circumstances – but our instincts proved right and what a fab trio they made!

Saturday – even with Kim reporting a few minor delays (one poop stop and a couple of indecisive turns) they came away with a very pleasing time behind a formidable Yakutian Laika team (who were busy making a bit of breed history competing under WSA regulations) which in turn gave them 1st place from the five AMWA competing teams on the day (which with two strong mixed freight-sibe teams on their heels in 2nd & 3rd made us both very proud indeed)!

Sunday – the three were super excited to be going out again and seemed to have fully clicked, improving their Saturday time by 40 seconds which proved enough to win their class against both their AMWA & WSA competitors on the day, and to my delight actually making them the second fastest freight team on Sunday (behind another all Greenland team in the ASFDC(8) class)!

The end result? Our first time team came away with a first place trophy for the weekend in ASFDC(3) – absolutely over the moon with them all, to say the least!

19/02

This weekend, Alice had the pleasure of joining our friend Kim and her Greenland male Wolvey for a sleepover so they could compete at NATB Dog Sport's Hinton Admiral 2 day race weekend. 

The duo undoubtedly had fun and, even better, came away with 1st in the DRF (Dryland Freight 2-4 dog) class!

18/02

Just Jess representing our kennel in breed classes at NW&PBS Open Show but a worthwhile journey as she came away with 1st Open & Best of Breed under our judge Ange Anderson (Cherubini).

04/02

We start our month with Isle of Ely CS Premier Open Show which saw judge Tim Ball (Kaitak) officiating breed classes.

Noah & Jess competed together in the Open class, with Noah placing 1st & Best of Breed with Jess runner up and called back into the challenge for Reserve Best of Breed.

Also representing on the day was Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black) who not only won her Post Graduate breed class but went on to place a pleasing 2nd in AV Working Post Graduate under judge Pauline Luxmoore-Ball.

JANUARY

 

28/01

Today we enjoyed a trip to Lichfield CS Premier Open Show with Jess in AVNSC Working & Harry out for the AMCUK supported breed classes.

Harry was in first and was his usual happy self, standing alone to win his Veteran class but making me very happy by going to claim two very pretty rosettes for Reserve Best of Breed along with Best Veteran in the challenge under judge Glynn Payne (Fearnought).

Not to be outdone, Jess quite suited being the odd one out in an otherwise all Boxer AVNSC competition having dumped most of her coat on the grooming table the night before - and definitely seeming to have a spring in her step as a result - nonetheless managing 1st Open and to my delight Best AVNSC under Steve Atkinson (Hollinswell). Not a bad day's work!

22/01

Manchester Championship was made more special than usual for us this year by scheduling Greenland Dog breed classes for the first time!
With Alice in season, it was just Jess & Noah representing our kennel and the duo did the double under our judge Debbie Stansbury (Woodbriar), with Noah coming out on top winning 1st Open Dog, Best Dog & Best of Breed (with extra thanks to friend Tara who piloted him to these awards in the challenge) while Jess took 1st Open Bitch, Best Bitch & Best Opposite Sex.

05/01

A relatively quiet day at Boston Championship Show to kick off the year with just Noah. In AVNSC Working, under judge John Purnell, he wins 1st Open Dog and Reserve Best Dog.

Also competing on the day is Elska (Fenrirkin Out Of The Black) who piloted by owner Charlotte not only 1ins her AVNSC Working Post Graduate Bitch class but goes on to win 1st Post Graduate, Best Bitch & Best Opposite Sex in AV Rare Breeds (also under judge John Purnell) - a very proud breeder moment!

01/01

We start the year as a very proud owner & breeder as we can now confirm our annual awards in the Our Dogs Top Dog competitions. And what a good excuse it is for us to share the beautiful advert we commissioned with Samnooshka designs for the (sadly postponed) Our Dogs A-Z Breed Feature.